Abstract: Enhancing the soft power of sports culture is an indispensable and important part of the construction of a leading sports nation. Folk sports, as an important part of China's sports culture, has vast resources and rich connotations. The development direction of folk sports should be further clarified in implementing the strategy of building a leading sports nation. The study believes that folk sports, as the cultural root of Chinese sports, can empower the construction of a leading sports nation by providing impetus, injecting vitality and enhancing potential. On the basis of clarifying the basis of folk sports, the author puts forward an innovative path for the development of folk sports in the process of building a leading sports nation.